Stubbornnness Takes a Toll
by TotoTail
Summary: RWBY has noticed a certain heiress has been acting rather strange lately. What could possibly be wrong?


Weiss Schnee was elegant in every sense of the word. The people around her expected her to be flawless, perfect, an all around refined young woman. The pressures of being heiress to the Schnee Dust Company had soon taken its toll.

This particular week, Weiss had too many essays to her liking, and she actually LIKED to do essays. There was just so many! The pressures of society and school caused Blake to notice her sudden…. Quietness. The Kitty, Blake, wanted to know what was wrong, like any normal teammate and most importantly, friend.

It was time for professor Port's lecture, and Ruby used her semblance to get there on time, leaving her teammates in her wake. Yang soon followed, and Blake turned to Weiss and wondered why the heiress hadn't started yelling across the halls to scold Ruby. Now that Weiss and Blake were alone, Blake could finally ask what was wrong. This was Blake's chance.

"Weiss, what's wrong," she stared at her teammate, "you have been really quiet recently."

Weiss waved the Kitty off, "Just some school work pressure is all, nothing I can't handle. It's really nothing, just all these deadlines."

Blake smirked, "Ok but if there is something else troubling you, tell me. You should always come to your team when you have problems. Don't put on that tough girl act you think you have going on."

Weiss ignored Blake's comment, "Come on, we have a lecture to attend."

The checkmate duo walked in a couple of minutes late and took their seats. Blake could not help but feel like there was something more than to it than what Weiss was telling her. Being observant as ever, noticed how red Weiss' face was. She saw how Weiss failed to diligently take notes at nearly everything Port ranted. And she ALWAYS took notes over anything he said, even the stories he repeated. Most importantly, she noticed how quiet Weiss was. She hadn't yelled at Ruby for any of her slip-ups, like running in the halls. That would have definitely caused an outburst, right? Blake couldn't shake these thoughts.

It was at this point Blake was getting kind of mad at the heiress. She arrived at the conclusion that Weiss was sick and was trying to cover it up. Why would she hide being sick? Did Yang and Ruby notice Weiss' change in behavior as well? While this maelstrom of thoughts was going through Blake's head, the bell had rung and everyone started leaving.

RWBY was about to exit the classroom; they were relieved that was the last class of the day. Weiss slowly walked passed her team and out the door without a word. Yang turned around to Ruby and Blake.

In a worried tone, "What's up with her?"

Blake went wide-eyed, should she tell them that perhaps she wasn't feeling well? It was just a hunch Blake had, although it was kind of obvious. But was it really any of her business? Maybe Weiss was in a hurry to finish one of those assignments she was talking about earlier?

Ruby jumped into the conversation, "let's just get back to our room and ask her for ourselves!"

The three walked back to their dorm and low and behold, RBY opened the door and saw Weiss trying to work on one of her assigned essays. She was hunched over her desk with a cup of steaming coffee.

Before anyone could say anything, Weiss turned the spinny chair around and tiredly said in an almost pleading voice, "please try not to make so much noise, this needs to be done by tonight."

Blake couldn't put the look on Weiss' face into words. She looked so…defeated? Was that the word? Yeah, just done with life. Defeated. RBY stared at her in shock. Ruby snapped out of it and asked, "is there anything we can help you with?"

Weiss just looked back down at her paper, and then glanced back up at RBY, "like I said before, just be quiet."

Everyone nodded in understanding, and Weiss went back to work. Blake could literally feel the tension in the air. Night soon came and unbeknownst to most of RWBY, Weiss was still working on her essay at about 2:00 A.M.

Weiss pretended to sleep around 11:00 P.M., when everyone went to bed. Weiss knew her friends would be mad if she stayed up too late. Ruby happily went to her top bunk in bliss cuddling her beloved Crescent Rose. Yang was out like a light. Blake is a VERY light sleeper, thanks to her faunus heritage, and noticed when the heiress woke up to finish her essay. Blake woke up with a frown.

In a low, sharp whisper, "WEISS, what are you doing?!"

Weiss quite literally almost fell out of her chair and on to the floor. She was surprised she managed to stay in her seat. She did not expect ANYONE to be up at 2:00 A.M. The heiress turned to Ruby and Yang and breathed a sigh of relief that neither had awoken.

She tried to put on a stern tone, "I never finished this…it's due tomorrow. I'm almost done, go back to bed."

Blake's face furrowed. Now she was PISSED. She saw how much rosier Weiss' cheeks have gotten since Port's lecture, and now she's staying up late? She could even see beads of sweat on her forehead. Her complexion got even paler, if that was possible.

Blake flipped the covers, and jumped out of bed. She put her hand on Weiss' forehead forcefully, earning a yank back from the heiress.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The heiress yelped in a low whisper, still aware of Ruby and Yang. If Weiss' cheeks weren't already red, she would be blushing madly.

"And how long were you going to pretend you weren't sick?" Blake stated obviously.

Weiss quickly stood up in a fury to rebuttal. Weiss began to sway and pant, unsteady on her feet. She was overtaken by a sudden wave of dizziness. She fell forward as her eyes flickered around the room. Blake caught the heiress purely on instinct, and quickly moved into action. She wrapped her arm around her waist, and the other behind her head and brought her gently to her lap. Blake had to keep calm. But of course she was panicking on the inside. She looked down at the limp, unconscious heiress.

Blake forgot about her surroundings and just focused on what was in front of her, the only thing that mattered, Weiss.

_I should probably get her to bed_.

As Blake was tucking Weiss in, the heiress groaned and stirred. She flinched, one…two…three times. Through her bleary eyes, she saw Blake looking down at her with a worried expression.

"Blake…. What happened?" She asked wearily.

"You fainted," Blake, whispered, now aware of the sleeping Yang and Ruby. "You have a fever. You can finish your essay later. Now you need your rest, it's 2:30 A.M."

Weiss weighed her words and couldn't believe Blake would suggest such a thing, "I need to finish my essay. It's due tomorrow and I don't have time." She then began to lift herself off the bed.

Blake was surprised and pushed the heiress down by her shoulders gently, "I'm sure professor Port will understand if you explain the situation to him. He will most likely give you the weekend to do the essay." She finished with a smile.

Weiss took up a much more stern tone, "the only way I will sleep right now is if I go to class tomorrow and if you promise me one thing."

Blake looked down at her expectantly.

"Don't mention a word of what happened tonight to Yang or Ruby, we can't have them worry over unnecessary things."

Blake looked down at Weiss and realized the 'unnecessary thing' she was talking about was Weiss herself. She saw how sick Weiss became over the last twelve hours, however, Blake knew Weiss wouldn't drop the subject. The heiress was stubborn. It was good enough for Blake that Weiss agreed to go to sleep. She never thought she would get this far. It was the middle of the night, and right now, both of them were pretty tired.

"Fine then, but I get to stay by your bedside ALL night." Dragging out the 'all,' Blake left no room for argument, and walked into the bathroom to get a wet cloth. She returned to Weiss' side in a heartbeat and laid it on her steaming forehead. Weiss was already asleep, shivering. Blake soon followed Weiss into bed and shared her warmth.

Ruby and Yang were, oddly, the first ones to wake up. Ruby bounced up and down, ready for the day. She jumped off her bunk bed and put her whistle in her mouth, looking expectantly at Yang. Yang gave her thumbs up with a cheery smile and Ruby took out her beloved whistle.

*FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

Weiss and Blake jolted awake. Yang looked at them, concerned.

"Everything alright? Why are you two sleeping in the same bed? Did something happen?"

Weiss took that as her cue, seeing as Blake never liked to lie. Weiss simply took a more tactful approach. She told somewhat of the truth,"I was feeling a bit lonely."

It technically wasn't a lie. Weiss was recently spending her days in solitude completing her assignments. Blake looked back to Weiss, grateful for having her answer so quickly and thoughtfully. Blake was studying Weiss' face, she looked a bit better, but she was still red. She remembered their conversation the night before, and began to dread it. Blake didn't want the heiress to go to classes when she was sick.

Yang didn't ask any more questions and team RWBY began to get ready for the day. Blake was hesitant to let the heiress leave the dorm, but she could go a day. The heiress is a resilient person. The kitty knows she's a strong, stubborn girl, plus she has all her classes with Weiss today. She can keep an eye on her. That was the only positive thing coming from their situation.

The whole day was a blur to Weiss. Truth be told, she only got a couple of hours of sleep last night, not nearly enough for a sick person. But no, she just had to insist on coming to classes. The only motivation for her was that this was a Friday, and then it was the weekend. She kept cursing herself for her stupid pride and stubbornness, but she was grateful Blake was always near.

Blake kept a close eye on Weiss throughout the day. Their first period with Oobleck went by without a problem, although Weiss was still not able to keep up in her notes. Blake noticed Weiss was barley awake in the next class, Grimm Studies with Port. Thankfully, they just had lunch after this and then team RWBY could do whatever they please. The bell rang and Blake nudged Weiss awake.

"Wha-what?" Weiss groaned, "oh, is class over?"

"Yes, it's time for lunch, you may not be hungry, but you have to try to eat something."

The heiress gave her a glare.

"Just do it for my sake. Then you can sleep all you want!" Blake gave her a small smile.

Weiss huffed, "let's go then."

The two took it slow to the cafeteria and met Yang and Ruby along with team JNPR. The checkmate pair sat across from Yang and Ruby. Weiss was surprised to see a salad on the table.

"It'sph for you" Ruby said, looking at Weiss with a mouthful of cookies.

"Thank you, Ruby. Why did you do this for me? It's a bit…odd." Weiss was thoroughly confused by this gesture and gave her a hesitant look of uncertainty.

Ruby gulped her last bits off cookie and cleared her throat; "Yang and I noticed you haven't been yourself lately. We wanted to do something to cheer you up, even if it was a something small."

Yang looked back and forth at Ruby and Weiss. She watched as Blake left to go get her tuna fish sandwich.

Weiss then looked at Ruby and Yang, and pondered her words. "Thank you guys, that's very…nice. However, I assure you, there is nothing to worry about." The heiress thought she was good at keeping her guard up, especially recently. This stubbed her confidence to say the least.

_I thought I was good at putting up a front…I need to get out of here. I just need an escape. Now that I think about it…I do feel much worse right now._ The heiress bit her lip in frustration.

Weiss took a seat directly across from Ruby. Nora began telling her crazy stories of being surrounded by beowolves. Team JNPR and RWBY began conversing. Weiss soon realized she wasn't hungry, at all. To be honest, she hadn't been hungry these past few days. Yang began chewing on her meat, "you know Weiss, I know it isn't my place to say, but you do look paler, and it has us all worried."

Ruby stopped a conversation with Jaune, "and you haven't even touched your food. Are you sure you're okay?"

Now that Ruby mentions it, Weiss was starting to feel much worse by this point. Her head began to throb, the chills had returned, and she could feel her fever rise. Weiss saw that by now everyone's eyes were on her. She cursed under her breath, and smiled, "I'm going back to our room. Tell Blake I'm fine."

She briskly exited the cafeteria and headed for the dorm.

The Kitty returned to her seat with her tuna in hand and began to panic, "where's Weiss?"

Ruby looked up at Blake and replied nonchalantly, "She said she's fine, she went back to our room."

Blake slammed her fists on the lunch table, startling everyone. Why was she so mad? An outburst from Blake? This was new. Team JNPR feared for their lives, as for Yang and Ruby, being surprised was an understatement. Blake stared them down, scowling in disgust.

You mean to tell me, you haven't noticed her change in behavior?! You haven't seen her red face? Or how flushed she is? How she sometimes shivers during class? How she has failed to pay attention? Did she even eat today? How unobservant can you two be!?"

Ruby and Yang stared at her, wide-eyed. Concern filled her voice; Ruby said guiltily, "So she really is sick…"

"Wait, you two knew?" Blake was in honest disbelief.

Yang shot out of her seat, "it doesn't matter, she needs to get better soon. She's been acting like this for a while. I understand your anger, Kitty Cat, but we can't argue now."

Blake and Ruby nodded in understanding and the three bolted out of the cafeteria.

Weiss was walking slowly now, having not reached the dorms yet. Her vision began to blur, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead, her ears now ringing. She was so close to her room she could literally see it. Her body began to sway, making her use the wall as a guiding tool. She began panting, and could have sworn she heard loud, scampering footsteps behind her. Her goal was just a few meters away.

_I… just need… sleep..._

Weiss barely heard echoing in the distance, "WEEEEEIIIIIIISSSSSSS!" The heiress turned around and saw a blob of black, yellow and red running at her. That's all she remembered before her eyes flickered behind her head, and collapsed.

RBY got there just in time. Blake pulled Weiss in close, and gently put her in her lap. Blake put her hand on Weiss' forehead.

"She's burning up!"

"Calm down Blakey," Yang put a hand on Blake's shoulder, "our room is right here. We can take care of her all weekend; she will definitely recover in time for Monday. Let's go."

Blake picked Weiss up bridal style, and gently set her down on the heiress' bed. Blake glanced at Ruby.

Ruby looked down dejectedly, "this is all my fault, I'm sorry. I should have made her stay here today! I even saw the signs that she wasn't feeling well."

Blake saw how guilty Ruby felt…it hit a pang in Blake's heart. "No Ruby, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine. Yesterday night, she was up until about 2:00 A.M. She was finishing her essay, and I got mad at her. She was mad too and suddenly collapsed. When she woke up a couple of minutes later, we made a deal so that she would go to sleep. The deal was that I wouldn't mention a word of what happened to you two and she would go to classes today."

Ruby and Yang took her words in deep thought. They looked at the heiress, who was in a deep slumber.

Yang, being the best peacemaker ever, "look, it doesn't matter whose fault it is, what matters is that she has plenty of time to recover. We all know she can be a bit, stubborn. Lets just be happy we made it through the day in one piece."

The heiress shifted in her bed and groaned, RBY were over by her side in an instant. Weiss' eyes slowly opened, and she saw her friends.

"G-guys? W-w-what happened? Why am I-"

"You were in the hallway and collapsed, we got to you just in time. Why didn't you just say you weren't feeling well?" Yang asked with a hint of worry.

You may think it sounds stupid, but old habits die hard. I can't have myself looking weak can I? I AM a Schnee. Whether we like it or not, we have to look good in front of everyone." She then turned to a low whisper, "that includes my friends."

Ruby smiled at her, feeling sorry for the heiress. "Weiss, we are your friends, you come to us if there's anything wrong. That's the point. That's why we're here, to make it better."

Blake, having been silent for a while, decided to cut in. "Weiss, you can put on a façade to anyone you want. That's fine with me. But when it comes to us, that's a different story, we're your teammates, your friends."

"Thank you guys, I realize that my stubbornness got the best of me… I'm sorry. I caused you all so much trouble." Weiss looked genuinely apologetic.

"Don't worry, princess. Just get some rest. We will all take care of you." Yang told her in a stern tone.

Weiss said no more, she was feeling exhausted. She fell asleep almost immediately. Blake got a water bucket, Yang went out to Vale and got some medication, and Ruby got the heiress a washcloth. Ruby then left the dorm to god knows where. Blake began to get worried. Weiss wasn't improving hours later. Her fever remained the same, and she was still panting. It was now dinnertime and Yang finally returned with the medication. Blake roused the heiress from her sleep.

Blake and Yang sat by Weiss and Yang handed the medication to her, "two pills every twelve hours. Your water is right here, princess."

Weiss shot her a glare because of that nickname, took the water, and shoved the two pills in her mouth. "Thanks for getting the medication Yang, I know you would rather be doing other things."

Ruby ran into the room looking awfully proud of herself, "WHO'S WANTS SOUP!?"

"My little Rubes can cook?! Aren't you lucky Weiss?" Yang exclaimed as she shot off the heiress' bed over to Ruby.

Blake looked to Weiss sympathetically, "can you sit up?"

Weiss took offense to this, "Of course I can!"

Blake slid one hand under the heiress' back to help her sit up. She brought the spoon up to her mouth.

"W-what are you doing?" Weiss was clearly embarrassed.

"I'm feeding you." Blake said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm capable of feeding myself, thank you very much." Weiss pouted.

Blake, noticing her chance at teasing Weiss, lifted up the spoon once more and started zig-zagging it. "Here comes the plane! WOOOOOOO-pshhh" It landed firmly in Weiss' mouth.

Weiss went wide-eyed. Did that really just happen? Blake made the cutest 'WOOO' sound too! She actually kind of liked being spoon-fed…but she would rather die than admit it. She swallowed the soup and before she had a chance to retaliate-

"I know you like it. Just be quiet and let me feed you your soup." Blake said in an almost commanding tone. "By the way, how did things turn out with professor Port?"

"It happened like you predicted, he gave me extra time." The heiress smiled, "thanks again Blake, I really would have probably pulled an all-nighter if you didn't stop me."

"That's what I'm here for." Blake gave Weiss a genuine smile.

The rest of dinner was spent in relative silence, and the bowl was gone in a few minutes. Ruby and Yang walked back in with smiles on their faces as they watched the scene that happened minutes before. Blake noticed Weiss was getting more of her complexion back.

Yang hummed in happiness, "we'll be quiet for you, princess. I hope you're feeling better already!"

"I actually am, thanks for the concern. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep." Weiss lay back down.

Yang turned off the lights, and went to her bed. Ruby stayed up quietly and read her weapons magazine, and Blake stayed by Weiss' side. Blake cuddled up next to her, giving her warmth. As Weiss drifted off to sleep, a smile danced across her lips, for the first time, in a long time.


End file.
